Messaging app under fire for alleged fentanyl connection in Carolinas
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general are demanding that the popular messaging platform WeChat take immediate action to stop the flow of money tied to the fentanyl trade.
Jackson announced the effort Monday alongside South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and other state and local leaders, saying the platform is enabling massive money laundering operations linked to the deadly drug.
“We believe that WeChat is being used to facilitate money laundering on a massive scale, specifically money laundering tied to the fentanyl trade,” Jackson said.
WeChat, a Chinese-owned app with more than a billion s worldwide, offers encrypted messaging and built-in payment features, making it a powerful tool for communication but also a potential vehicle for illicit financial transactions.
Jackson says the app is being used by Chinese brokers to help Mexican cartels move drug profits out of the United States and back to their suppliers.
Jackson explained how the process works:
“Step one, China sells the chemical ingredients to the cartels, and the cartels produce the fentanyl. Step two, fentanyl is smuggled into the U.S. and sold for cash. Step three, that cash is handed off to Chinese brokers who use WeChat to route the money back to the cartels, and the cycle starts over,” he said.
Jackson added that the impact of these networks is devastating in North Carolina, where fentanyl overdoses are the leading cause of death for people under age 45.
“In our state, overdoses are the leading cause of death for people my age and younger. We are losing an average of six people per day to fentanyl,” Jackson said.
Wilson echoed those concerns, saying his state is also struggling with the influx of fentanyl.
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“We have historically seen hundreds of kilos pouring into our state or to, you know, to the south of here, into South Carolina,” Wilson said, pointing to the major interstate corridors like I-85 and I-95 as drug trafficking routes.
Wilson also highlighted the scale of the problem, recalling a recent drug bust that seized a kilogram of fentanyl.
“One kilo of fentanyl is enough to kill half a million people,” Wilson said.
Jackson said his office, along with attorneys general from five other states, has sent a letter to WeChat’s parent company demanding that they take concrete steps to prevent their platform from being used to facilitate drug money transfers. The group gave the company 30 days to respond.
“As of today, WeChat has exactly 30 days to tell us what steps they are taking to stop criminal money laundering on their platform,” Jackson said.
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